Falafelgate Unfolds: Contest May Have Closed Early

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Earlier we joked that an anonymous falafel joint’s search for a name — the hum-drum Kosher Village, as it turned out — may have been nothing more than a marketing ploy, but we didn’t know how right we were. An observant reader e-mailed to tell us that although the restaurant said entries would be accepted until April 28, it registered what would become the winning domain name two weeks earlier, on April 12. Here’s the evidence, via whois.com.

Were late-entering contest participants robbed of their punning rights? We’ve contacted Mr. Nissim for comment. Perhaps he registered the name just in case, but you have to admit, this smells funnier than rancid yogurt sauce.